How a bold investment helped reclaim a site of pain and build a pillar of Indigenous tourism
Near Cranbrook in ʔaq̓am, St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino is set against an impressive mountain backdrop. Once a residential school run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate from 1912 to 1970, the resort now stands transformed under Ktunaxa Nation ownership, surrounded by manicured lawns and colourful gardens —a striking contrast to its somber past.
The final bend along the road to St. Eugene, once called Crying Corner, revealed not a holiday destination but an imposing, 55-foot-tall concrete structure where over 5,000 children from the Ktunaxa, Okanagan, Shuswap and Blackfoot Nations were forcibly removed from their families and denied their language and culture.
One of these children, Sophie Pierre—who spent nine years at St. Eugene from age six—later became Nasuʔkin (Chief) of ʔaq̓am. She recalls the idea of transforming the school into a resort was initially met with reluctance.
After the school closed in 1970, the building and 327 surrounding acres were turned over to five bands: four Ktunaxa Nation communities including ʔaq’am, ʔakisq̓nuk, Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi ‘it and Yaqan nuʔkiy, and the Shuswap Band. It sat vacant for over 20 years, falling into disrepair while the Ktunaxa struggled to reconcile differing opinions about what to do with the site. Some wanted it torn down, while others, like Pierre, saw an opportunity to create a space for healing and community benefit.
“Since it was within the St. Eugene Mission School that the culture of the Kootenay Indian was taken away, it should be within that building that it is returned,” said Ktunaxa Elder Mary Paul. Her words became a cornerstone of the project and are now displayed on the walls of the resort.
Pierre recalls that it took time for the community to embrace what their Elder meant: that reclaiming and transforming St. Eugene could help restore cultural, social and economic order. In the halls where children once suffered, the Ktunaxa envisioned renewal.
“Somehow, without two nickels to rub together,” said Pierre, the Ktunaxa and their partners “managed to put together a $40-million resort.”
In 1999, Columbia Basin Trust joined the project, ultimately investing nearly $7 million in construction and operations. While the investment was structured as a loan, it was never fully repaid. On paper, it was a financial loss—but in hindsight, the Trust viewed it differently. The investment helped catalyze a community-led effort to transform a site of trauma into one of pride, purpose and opportunity. It created meaningful employment, supported Indigenous tourism, and contributed to long-term economic renewal in the region.
The St. Eugene golf course opened in 2000 and was quickly recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top three Best New Canadian Courses in 2001. Yet despite the early accolades, external challenges such as wildfires, global events, and a regional tourism downturn left the resort deeply in debt. Struggling to build the planned hotel and casino addition, St. Eugene filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2003 in an attempt to restructure its finances and operations.
In 2004, a groundbreaking partnership between the Ktunaxa, the Samson Cree Nation in Alberta and the Rama First Nation in Ontario rescued the project from financial collapse, marking the first national First Nations collaboration of its kind. Eventually, the resort began to turn a profit. An RV park was added in 2017 and, in 2018, St. Eugene was the host hotel for the BC Seniors Games.
The resort’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Michael Sprake, says they recently celebrated the golf course’s 25th anniversary and are planning for future growth.
“We’ve recently added new glamping cabins and are expanding amenities—including updates to our casino lounge—to attract a wider range of visitors,” he adds. “These investments help us remain competitive in the tourism market and support stable, year-round employment for our community.”
Between hosting writers’ conferences and partnering with nearby wineries for tastings and festivals, St. Eugene employs 200 to 250 people year-round, offering stable employment and helping steward local economic development. Sprake is optimistic as the organization begins strategic planning around a new vision for the coming five to 15 years.
The Trust’s early support helped enable Indigenous leadership to reclaim and repurpose a site of historical pain into a space for healing and opportunity. Pierre believes the resort helped foster relationships between the Ktunaxa Nation and non-Indigenous organizations across the Basin, cementing the fact that “the Indigenous community is going to be involved now.”
